Volkwagen Motorsports’ Sebastien Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassian left the third round of the WRC season in Mexico in command of the championship chase – leading home team-mates Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila, with more than a minute separating the two Polo WRCs.
The win for Ogier comes after Latvala’s dominant performance in Sweden’s snow, while all the Frenchman could manage was a sixth overall after crashing out and losing valuable time to his Finnish teammate and championship rival.
There were no such mistakes for the defending champions in the Mexican gravel this weekend – Ogier and Ingrassia took an early lead right after the start. After Norwegian Mads Ostberg was briefly in charge in the Citroen DS3 WRC, the VW pair too command of the event on stage seven and didn’t look back – taking home a maximum points haul of 28 after winning the power stage as well.
“The Polo is strong and quick and we have been doing very good work. I was hungry for this win after my mistake in Sweden,” Ogier said afterward.
Behind the Polos, Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul brought the fledgeling Hyundai World Rally Team its maiden podium in the i20 WRC – over five minutes off the winning Polo’s pace.
Making up the rest of the top five were M-Sport’s Elfyn Evans in his Ford Fiesta WRC and team-mate Martin Prokop.
The next round of the World Rally Championship takes the teams back across the Atlantic for Rally Portugal – another dusty gravel event. Rally Portugal happens from 3-6 April.
Championship Standings
Drivers
1. Sebastien Ogier (France) – 63 points
2. Jari-Matti Latvala (Finland) – 60
3. Mads Ostberg (Norway) – 32
4. Andreas Mikkelsen (Norway) – 24
5. Elfyn Evans (Wales) – 20
Manufacturers
1. Volkswagen Motorsport – 115 points
2. Citroen World Rally Team – 60
3. M-Sport World Rally Team – 40
4. Hyundai World Rally Team – 31
5. Volkswagen Motorsport II – 28
